Best Old-School Westside Barber (2011)

It's a little funny that, just a few doors down from the relatively new Floyd's 99 Barbershop in Mar Vista, stuffed with hipsters blithely getting $30-plus hair treatment in a chain-store environment that tries painfully to re-create simpler times, there's the real thing: L&R Barbershop, where Rafael Victorin runs the show alongside his haircutting nephew, has been standing on Grand View Boulevard in downtown Mar Vista since 1940, and it shows. The patina of old black-and-white clippings and photos on the walls (in one, a group of young, James Dean–looking hot-rodders) speaks to authenticity. And, like a Concours-winning, classic muscle car, this is no re-creation. Step in and Victorin will put you at ease and give you a razor-sharp trim while, at the same time, he recounts the top stories in the morning newspaper like a true anchorman. While you're there, you might run into local City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who's a regular. The shop's motto is, "Where cool never goes out of style." Neither does a $12 haircut. 3823 Grand View Blvd., Mar Vista. (310) 390-1381.